The Edmonton Oilers are currently focused on trying to win their first Stanley Cup since 1990, and they seem poised to push for the top spot in the Pacific Division. While they aren’t quite ready to shift their focus to next season, there is a name they should be keeping tabs on, even as they try to make another deep playoff run.
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Dallas Stars’ forward Jason Robertson has been involved in trade speculation over the past couple of seasons, due to the uncertainty surrounding his contract situation, with fans around the league wondering if there is a legitimate chance he becomes available when his current deal expires at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.
Robertson, who is 26 years old, is one of the most well-rounded players in the NHL. This season, he has scored 42 goals and added 50 assists for 92 points through 79 games. Throughout his career, he has scored 210 goals and added 276 assists for 486 points through 453 games, which comes out to a 1.07 points-per-game average.
After the Stars landed superstar forward Mikko Rantanen and extended him for eight years, speculation began to pick up even more, with fans wondering how the Stars could justify paying two players over $25 million annually. Realistically, Robertson could be looking for more than Rantanen, which could cause some issues in negotiations.
In a world where Robertson enters free agency as a restricted free agent (RFA), the Oilers should be doing whatever it takes to land him, specifically by being willing to send an offer sheet and sacrifice four first-round picks.
Oilers Would Have to Clear Cap Space
At first glance, this seems like a crazy idea. However, the Oilers tried to land Rantanen last season and failed, even after there was mutual interest from Rantanen in extending long-term. Considering the Oilers were willing to spend big to bring in a top-six forward, there is no reason to think they wouldn’t be willing to be aggressive again, should Robertson become available.
According to PuckPedia, the Oilers have just over $16.7 million in cap space to work with for the 2026-27 season. While that’s more than enough to spend on Robertson, they need to try to clear even more cap space to try and bring back Connor Ingram, Connor Murphy, Jason Dickinson, and Jack Roslovic.
The easiest way to do that is to leverage Darnell Nurse. He is entering the final season where he has a full no-movement clause, which gives him just one more season of leverage before he can be traded almost anywhere. If he understands he’s going to be moved, he could have a say in where he gets traded, and the Oilers would be able to free up some of, if not all of, his $9.25 million cap hit.
If they can do that, that gives them the flexibility to bring back every pending free agent they want to re-sign, as well as send an offer sheet to the Stars for Robertson.
Oilers Have Assets to Send Offer Sheet
The current offer sheet compensation states that any offer sheet above $11,700,193 results in a team having to give up four first-round picks. The Oilers don’t have their 2027 first-round pick, but they do own every first-round pick between 2028 and 2031, making them eligible to send an offer sheet of that magnitude.
Convincing Robertson to sign that deal would come down to them offering him more than what the Stars are comfortable paying, which could lead to a bit of an overpay, but for a player like Robertson, the Oilers can’t hesitate. Adding Robertson gives the Oilers some extra firepower they can use in their top-six forward group, and it finally solidifies them as having one of, if not the strongest, forward cores in the entire league.
Realistically, the Oilers would have to offer Robertson a seven-year deal worth $14 million annually. This puts the Stars in jeopardy cap-wise, since they have just over $14 million in projected cap space, and also have some pending free agents they would like to bring back. This also puts Robertson on the same pay level as Leon Draisaitl, but considering how deep the rest of the Oilers’ roster is, they can afford to pay that duo.
There is no indication Robertson would be open to a move at this time, but should negotiations fall through for whatever reason in the upcoming offseason, the Oilers need to do whatever it takes to bring him in. If that means paying him more than what he is worth for the first couple of seasons, then so be it.
Oilers Would Still Have Money Left Over
Some fans would argue that the Oilers’ biggest issue remains the uncertainty at the goalie position, and there is some truth to that. However, moving Nurse and overpaying Robertson leaves enough money left over for the Oilers to re-sign Ingram and bring in a new starting goaltender.
If the Oilers can find a way to trade Tristan Jarry and get out from the remainder of his current contract, after what has been a failed experiment, that opens up even more flexibility for them.
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